Just a Bit of Class
by Story Nite
Summary: She hadn't expected to meet someone like him. Someone besides Roman, who was even slightly enjoyable to interact with. Someone with just a bit of class... -Written by Lo


**Notes: Yo, guys, it's Lo! Here I am with another story! What's that? I've posted four stories now and the other four still don't have anything up? Are we even sure this is an account between five friends? Two years and two people still haven't picked a name? Yes, as the established leader (seeing as I'm the only one who posts), I have no idea what's going on with them. I'm just about the only one left writing. And just about the only one left writing fanfiction. Ironic, considering I was the least passionate about writing when we were younger. Although, our most passionate one still writes, just not fanfic. Still, Linear and another were there for me to bounce ideas off of, so I guess they are kinda involved with the account.  
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**Anyways, ranting aside, here's a story I wrote a while back, more on that later. I figured today was a fine day to post. Valentine's and all. This is a pairing I was quite fond of, I can't say how I feel about it in later volumes, considering I've only watched up to volume five. I don't really know what their characters turn into in the other volumes, but from what I have watched, I still ship it. Unfortunate that there aren't many fics of this ship, or even shippers of this.**

**I know. These two have no interactions with each other(afaik), there's nothing they do in canon that would make one ship it. But neither do Sun and Pyrrha, and I still kinda ship that... Which also doesn't really have any fics written about it. Although while I can justify the Pyrrha and Sun ship, showing how their clashing personalities would make an interesting pair, I'm not confident I could do that with these two. (But considering these two were some of the least developed characters for a long time, and I shipped it before volume four, I'd say that's normal.)**

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The young woman walked down the street, accompanied only by the sound of the heavy rain tapping against her umbrella. Hanging off her arm was a similar device to the one in use, one with a crook handle. There were differences between the two, however. Like the black, solid canopy of the one currently in use, compared to the lacy, pink, white, brown, and red fabric of the one on her arm. Also, instead of the crook handle, the one currently in use had one of those neat cylindrical handles! ...Yeah, she didn't like it. How much would a new umbrella cost?

She started walking to the store on the other side of the street. Sir Druggie's Drugstore of Vale. Great place. Lots of legal drugs. There were other products, too... but also drugs. Legal drugs. Definitely no contraband sold out the back.

A small bell jingled when she opened the door, and the clerk politely greeted her. "Welcome!" After collapsing the umbrella's canopy, she gave a fanciful wave back. Besides her, there seemed to only be one other customer, with whom the clerk was currently dealing.

The shop was rather small. The place gave off a homey kind of feeling, with beautiful dark oak floors contrasting against the grey stone walls and everything bathed in a dim light. The similarly colored oak beams running along the ceiling adding to the rustic design. The store's design definitely made it stand out in the city.

Lighter colored wood was used for the rows of shelves. Pills, bottles, drinks, and snacks—as well as a few other products—were stocked on their respective shelf. Nothing out of the ordinary.

She walked up to the closest shelf, the one with all the pills. She didn't need to look through all the items, she remembered where it was. Row two, column three. She reached in and plucked a bottle of aspirin from its place. Roman had been prone to headaches ever since their new business venture. He wasn't a big fan of their new 'friend'.

She went over to the counter and gently set the bottle down. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out some money as the cashier rung her up. She could have stolen it, sure, but it was just a bottle of aspirin. What was the point? It wasn't even that expensive. More effort than it would be worth, in her opinion. Besides, she liked Druggie. Not enough to keep her from stealing the snacks she had hidden on her person, but she liked him.

When he asked her if she'd like a bag, she shook her head no, showing him rather enthusiastically that it fit perfectly in her jacket pocket. And so, with a wry smile, he waved a farewell as she left.

She stopped in front of the exit. Not because she suddenly remembered something she needed, but because the customer from earlier was standing right in the doorway. There was only one way in and out of the store, so it wasn't like she could just go out another way... Well, wasn't he rude.

Maybe the clerk would say something. She looked back to the counter, but the clerk was gone. He probably went to the back... That was rude. She should have stolen the aspirin.

She lifted her umbrella and poked him in the shoulder a few times. When he looked back, she made sure to give him an annoyed glare. He apologized and stepped to the side. At least he had some manners. But only a little.

"Looks like you came prepared," he joked. "Why do you have two umbrellas?"

Great, another simpleton. She just barely kept herself from rolling her eyes. Why could she never run into someone with a bit of class? Not all umbrellas were created equally. Not all umbrellas liked the rain. Was Roman the only other person in Vale who understood that. "Oh, never mind. The other is a parasol." And now the guy apparently thought— Wait, what?

She blinked a few times. Then a few more times. 'The other is a parasol', that's what he said. One would have assumed him to be unsophisticated from his first comment, but after what he just said... Was he actually a man of culture? Was he in fact, not a simpleton?

However, seeming to misunderstand her expression, he spoke again. "Or do you prefer the term sunshade?"

She popped back to reality. Sunshade? What? No. She didn't care what he called it. She quickly shook her head to dispel his misconception... but that wasn't exactly clear to him.

He tilted his head with a confused expression.

She grabbed the canopy of the parasol and pulled it off its resting place on her arm. Lifting it up, she brought it closer for his view.

He hummed as he examined the item in her hand. His eyes soon wandered off the item and back to the girl. She simply nodded under his gaze, and so his eyes went back to the item.

After a few seconds of silent observation, he finally spoke, "The parasol?" He pointed at the object in her hand.

She nodded, tapping the tip of her nose with an index finger.

He took a few more seconds to think over what she was trying to communicate. It had to be related to her parasol. She first reacted when he corrected himself. It didn't seem to be that she preferred another term for the item, so what could it be...? "Ah," he came up with a theory, "Are you pleased that I know the difference between the two?"

She nodded her head more vigorously.

"I see..." He scratched the back of his head. "But there must have been others who could—" She folded her arms and turned her head away with a pout. "Or maybe not."

She looked back at him, smiling as she offered her hand.

He stared for a second before acting. It didn't take much effort to decipher this gesture. He grabbed her hand with a light shake as he introduced himself. "Lie Ren."

Lie Ren, huh? Easy name, much like her own.

She retrieved her hand from his grip. She wasn't able to introduce herself like he had, she had no voice. But every human being had that desire, the desire to be heard. And so, from a young age, she had developed other means of communication. Developed her own way of speaking. She created the voice she was born without.

Lifting her hand, she began artistically moving her fingers through the air. It wasn't a single finger, or even two, she made use of all five fingers in a mesmerizing display of fluidity and flexibility. When she finished, she looked back at him with a playful little smile.

"Mhm, yeah..." Ren nodded. "I didn't quite catch that." She frowned. "Once more please."

She wrote out her name again, this time moving her hand a little slower.

"Ne...o? Neo?" Bingo, bingo, bingo. "That was an impressive introduction. The heart at the end was a nice touch." She nodded along to his praise, she _was_ pretty cool... and pretty. "Well... it was nice meeting you."

Going back to his business, Ren leaned forward and peeked up at the sky through the window. It didn't seem like the rain would be letting up any time soon. Was there a place nearby where he could acquire an umbrella? Preferably without getting too soaked.

The girl rubbed her chin as she examined the boy. She went behind him, looking closely at his long hair. She even picked it up and let it gently plop back against his spine. She went back to his side and started in on his arm. She reached out a finger and poked his bicep... it wasn't squishy. She crouched down, his legs taking over as the focus of her attention. She reached out with both her arms, and wrapping her hands around his thigh, she gently squeezed a few times... She nodded to herself, it was a strong thigh.

"I hope you weren't planning on going much further." She looked up and found him staring down at her with wary eyes. She stood up, clasping her hands behind her as she leaned forward with a smile. "Was there something else you wanted?"

She tilted her head ever so slightly to the side. Bringing a hand over to the front, she pointed down to his hand. Or more specifically, she pointed at the bag being held in his hand.

"Ah, you're curious what I've gotten?" She nodded. He did find it a little weird that she was curious, they didn't know each other after all, but he didn't have any reason to keep it secret. So he told her, "My friends are ill, so I came to pick up some medicine." He looked back outside. "But it seems to have started raining pretty heavily while I was here."

She reached up and grabbed her throat, staring at him with a questioning expression.

"No, their conditions aren't serious. Probably just a cold." She breathed out a puff of air. "Yeah, a relief."

She smiled, he got pretty good at understanding her in that short amount of time. He was quite the fast learner. A lot of people were real dummies who couldn't pick up on her communications, even with multiple hours experience talking to her. Well, there was actually one hand gesture they all understood. But she only used it when she was annoyed... she used it a lot.

He was pretty good, she liked him. He was way more fun to communicate with than the other people she normally had the displeasure of communicating with. Perhaps she should give him a reward.

_Give him a reward..._

What a fun idea.

He narrowed his eyes, "You're... planning something, aren't you?" The only answer he got was a mischievous expression.

In an instant, she threw a light jab at his stomach. When he leaned forward, wrapping his arms around his abdomen, she grabbed him by his shirt collar and pulled his lips into hers. And then, after several seconds, she pushed him away and slapped him. He should know better than to kiss a girl he just met. What if the girl didn't want to be kissed?

Opening her umbrella and walking out into the rain, all she left him was a light wave over her shoulder.

Ren... wasn't entirely sure what just happened. The sensation of her soft lips still lingered around, threatening to numb his senses. His body started getting warmer and warmer, his cheeks were slowly cycling through different shades of colors. "Maybe I don't need an umbrella..." he mumbled as he walked out the store. The rain felt especially cool against his skin that night.

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**Closing Notes: That's the story, I hope you readers enjoyed it. As I said earlier, this is a story I wrote a while back. I wrote it for one of our competitions, I did not win. But I believe that was mostly due to them not liking it when I write kiss scenes. I guess to be fair, I did scar them with previous kiss scenes I've written, but this one was not nearly as graphic! In fact, this one is hardly descriptive. It is the least descriptive kiss I've ever written. I did that for them!**

**Fine, whatever. Linear won that time. I suppose my loss also could have been due to the story not being completely finished. But the story we have here isn't too different from what was presented.**

**Anyways, I know it's been over a year since I've been gone, but I'll try to be more active. I'm not a very fast writer, and I end up losing motivation whenever I get stuck on a scene. But I'll try! I know how annoying it can be when you're into a story and the author disappears for multiple years. You're not as in it anymore, you may forget what was happening, all sorts of things. Sorry! And sorry in advance!**


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